Preparation

Taste wise there’s some healthy kuwei and a rather complex northern, sweet floral honey profile that covers the entire cavity and gets even sweeter as the session moves on. The flavors are accompanied by equally perfumy, slightly less intense complex aromas playing around a central honey theme that stay in the cup for quite a while.
Decent above-average dynamics, great stamina and fast huigan leading to one of the deepest, most intense and complex aftertastes I’ve experienced in a while, lingering on the palate for more than 20 mins. There are some somatics as well, sneaking up up the cheeks, moving around the nose, the eyes and ears, apart from that I didn’t notice (or miss) any noteworthy stimulative or calming effects.
I managed to get the last of these cakes last year but would happily buy more if they were still available – lovely stuff.

Preparation

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.from aspects of effect: yes there is a slight effect you can feel that is typical for yunnan sheng, rather mild and alcoholic like white tea.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.from aspects of effect: yes there is a slight effect you can feel that is typical for yunnan sheng, rather mild and alcoholic like white tea.bannacha is selling it for 8 euros / 100 grams right now, a full 250g cake for 16 euro.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.from aspects of effect: yes there is a slight effect you can feel that is typical for yunnan sheng, rather mild and alcoholic like white tea.bannacha is selling it for 8 euros / 100 grams right now, a full 250g cake for 16 euro.i guess the demand is not very high because of the rather mild to no taste.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.from aspects of effect: yes there is a slight effect you can feel that is typical for yunnan sheng, rather mild and alcoholic like white tea.bannacha is selling it for 8 euros / 100 grams right now, a full 250g cake for 16 euro.i guess the demand is not very high because of the rather mild to no taste.for this price and if you like rather tasteless teas like white tea, the effect is quite nice and it is definately there after 4 brews (10-13-16-19 seconds), but it’s a rather sleepy alcoholic effect and not a typical sheng like awakening mind opening one.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.from aspects of effect: yes there is a slight effect you can feel that is typical for yunnan sheng, rather mild and alcoholic like white tea.bannacha is selling it for 8 euros / 100 grams right now, a full 250g cake for 16 euro.i guess the demand is not very high because of the rather mild to no taste.for this price and if you like rather tasteless teas like white tea, the effect is quite nice and it is definately there after 4 brews (10-13-16-19 seconds), but it’s a rather sleepy alcoholic effect and not a typical sheng like awakening mind opening one.i definately can not taste any citrus, flower or sweet aromas here or any bitterness at all contrary to the original description by william but as he says, it’s really a tea for people who favor body over fragrance.

well.. regarding this tea is a sheng picked in 2012 and already 5 years old i can’t review the fresh taste of it, i bought it about 2 years ago in 2015 and the taste was near to none with a high caffeine effect to it.now at the age of 5 yeats i have to say the color and taste is still near to none, rather grey/transparent, slightly brown.there are no specific sheng tastes to it like a jingmai sheng would have (intense yellow and after 5 years orange), but reminds of a typical yunnan tea tree (more like the stems).i wouldn’t rate it very high, it tastes more like a silver bud tea without much aroma.from aspects of effect: yes there is a slight effect you can feel that is typical for yunnan sheng, rather mild and alcoholic like white tea.bannacha is selling it for 8 euros / 100 grams right now, a full 250g cake for 16 euro.i guess the demand is not very high because of the rather mild to no taste.for this price and if you like rather tasteless teas like white tea, the effect is quite nice and it is definately there after 4 brews (10-13-16-19 seconds), but it’s a rather sleepy alcoholic effect and not a typical sheng like awakening mind opening one.i definately can not taste any citrus, flower or sweet aromas here or any bitterness at all contrary to the original description by william but as he says, it’s really a tea for people who favor body over fragrance.i hope i helped you with this review so you will have an idea of what kind of tea you are buying.

I brew this tea in a small yixing clay teapot with short steepings.
The dry cake smells like honey and orchids. Springtime-freshness.
The tea has citrusy astringency, medium bitterness. typical young jingmaishan shengpu flavour with floral sweet-sour aftertaste.
after the 4th infusion, the astringency is thinner, the flavour becomes more pleasant.
The long lasting aftertaste is sweet in my throat and nose. The later steepings tasted more fruity and sweet.
I enjoy this tea. With some more age it could give an epic experience.

I tried a beautiful medium pressed sample of this tea. Very fragnant, sweet, honey and flower scent filled the room.
The tea is easy to drink, refreshing, medium thickness, a little bit bitter with some astringency, but later it develops into honey sweetness,
tasted like a candied spring flower. Long lasting pleasant huigan.

Preparation

this is a very light tea, the color is a light yellow, the taste is very easy, not strong.
it reminds me of bamboo tea with a hint of mint and a little hay in the beginning, a typical easy going sheng flavor, it doesn’t really get stronger throughout the session.
later steepings remind of a milky oolong, i never had that oolong taste in a sheng before.
it could have potential for storage if it got stronger with time, but i am not sure if there is enough intense basic aroma in it for developing an intense aroma. maybe in the end with the milky oolong.
compared to other shengs it may be quite interesting as the hay and astringency and withered flowery aroma is only very light and might not get stronger.
it’s a mild and light but pleasing tea keeping you relaxed and fit.

Flavors: Bamboo, Hay, Milk, Mint

Preparation

Backlog from yesterday but after airing out this sample I tasted very different more pleasing but still not to my tastes. This time the mineral and “autumn leaf pile” went away but the buttery roundness stayed. From what I remember it was slightly sweet and vegetal light a par-grilled zucchini, I could taste the slightly astringent seeds of the fruit also the lightly bitter skin. Not talking bulang bitter but slightly noticeable although it was rounded out but a herbaceous buttery smoothness not cream or thick but the flavors seems to transition smoothly as if I was tasting a buttered vegetable not saying it tasted like butter nor did it have a thick buttery texture. While not a bad tea I just may not like jingmai terrior I still have a few other samples to chug from bannacha from their jingmai harvest so we shall see.

-Take away
Not only are flavors subjective from person to person based on their memories and associations but even in this short period of storage the tastes changed within one person’s perception of one tea has changed dramatically. I remember when I first started drinking teas if I tasted a tea once I would make a binding decision in that exact moment. It seems that definitive opinions can’t be truly formed until you have not only changed brewing parameters(time, temperature, vessel) but also water type, our body’s hydration(I tend to be dehydrated which is the equlivent of your taste buds having a cold so I always try to carefully breathe in the stream from the kettle to moisten my nasal and throat passages), but also storage. I am not talking small barely noticeable minuscule changes, with this tea originally it tasted like sucked on a metallic rack after cleaning a leaf pile super minerally super “autumn leaf pile” now it was a slightly under cooked caramelized herbed butter fried zucchini.

Flavors: Butternut Squash, Herbaceous, Zucchini

Preparation

This is my first jingmai was I not sure how to rate it. The leaves are supposedly spring gushu so I assume this is a good a place to start as any. The dry leaves smelled of salad greens and slight tobacco coupled with a more dominant “young sheng pu” smell. The first few steepings were muddled with the teas potential. The tea had a decent amount of complexity unfortunately it was not a flavor profile I enjoy. The dominant flavor reminded me of fall not that I am claiming autumn harvest but the raw leaves literally tasted like when I was a child raking leaves and remember getting some accidentally in my mouth. It was not the sheng puer leaves taste I am familiar with closer to whatever tree leaves we have here in north america. The first few steepings I tasted a slight bitterness similar to bitter green vegetables nothing unbearable and a quick astringency. Also I tasted a strong mineral/wet stone mid way through (maybe this is the gushu root system) and followed by a slight woodiness it finished with a super quick sweetness that you’d miss if you blinked. The body was not super heavy although the viscosity pouring from the gaiwan was on the slow end. After the 4rd steeping or so the astringency vanished but a slight leave bitterness remained. Towards the end of the session the sweetness become more apparent although still not super intense or long lasting, it is still hiding behind the main taste of “fall” leaf. I hope this is not the jingmai profile while the memories the taste invoked of childhood were pleasant the taste maybe me think of stopping raking to spit out leaves in a dramatic manner. Forgot to mention in the earlier steepings the liquor did slide down the sides of the tongue but only slightly. The cha qi was calm and soothing with a slow creeping effect that I almost didnt notice had it not been so bright outside(mild fish eye lens vision).

While I do not dislike this tea and see some of its admirable qualities I will not be purchasing any of this especially since I have a few more jingmai samples from william of bannacha to go through.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Mineral, Wet Rocks

Preparation

This was the last tea I tried from my recent order from Bannacha. I somehow did not expect much from it. Man was I surprised! I brewed this and removed the gaiwan lid and I was blown away by the aroma. Just as beautiful as the aroma was the sweet liquor that brought a smile to my face. This is an absolutely gorgeous tea! I ordered samples of this and the Autumn 2012 Lao Man E, a 2012 Autumn Xiao Yang Chun, and a larger sample of the 2012 Gu Yun. These will all be purchased in cake form and I can recommend them all without hesitation.